December 27th. Then and Now.

December 27, 2012.  Jon is told by his urologist that his yearly scan shows spots on his lungs and looks like testicular cancer has metastasized to his lungs.  Surgery, lung biopsy, standard round of chemo, then high dose with stem cell transplant and finally thoracic surgery to remove remaining spots…FAST FORWARD.

December 27, 2013.  We walked into Disney's Magic Kingdom as a family with Jon completely healthy and cancer free.  What a great moment!

I'm going to let the pictures tell the story but the kids and the parents had an amazing time!  Disney is truly the "happiest place on earth."  I'm sorry if you do not share in that belief, ha:o)

BTW, it's also the first time Jon and I have been on vacation alone, especially DisneyWorld.  It actually went great, the kids (in particular the twins) have come ALONG way and we can finally vaca as a family of 5, YEA!!

Entering the Magic Kingdom!

These are ponies that the kids got to meet the day before at Ft. Wilderness.  They were so excited to see them in the parade!

These kids love each other so much and I truly believe this past year has brought them closer together!

 We certainly had our moments like when the twins would refuse to keep walking and just plop down.

It was definitely a little more tricky like when we rode Dumbo and Jon can't ride the round and round rides so I was alone.  It was fun though!:o)

 The Strebe's are GODSTRONG!

and so is

GOOFY

MINNIE and

DONALD!

THANK YOU and MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dear GODSTRONG supporters,

You guys are the best supporters in the world!  You have been amazing throughout our journey.  We want to write one big thank you note because as of now I think we have written about 5 of them and we have  hundreds to write.  My goal is to write you all thank you notes, but that could take a year or years!

We are blessed!  I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of people that have prayed for Jon and our family.  It has been a huge amount!  We want to say thank you for interceding on our behalf.  Your prayers were felt and it definitely gave Jon a huge boost knowing how many people were supporting and praying for him!

If you...bought a GODSTRONG shirt, mailed a card, sent a package, sent a gift card, gave money, sent an encouraging text/email/FB message, called us, made a meal, took care of our yard, put Christmas lights on our house, got our mail, cleaned our house, signed the blanket, tweeted on our behalf, told a friend Jon's story, gave us tickets to a play, museum, etc in Indy, came and visited us, prayed with us and/or for us, ran an errand for us, babysat for us--even at the very last minute, gave Donna a day at the spa, had a playdate with us even when we were perfect strangers, opened your home for us to stay, gave us buddy passes at the last minute, picked us up and dropped us and family off at the airport, took care of our bills and paperwork, drove the sports car to keep it running while we were gone, checked on our home, gave my kids extra love and hugs, allowed Jon to speak and share his story, gave him the BEST medical care, if you are our doctor and responded to freak out text and emails ASAP, let us borrow your thule, rounded up high chairs and rocking chairs to use in Indy, made the dream of being at Cameron Indoor Stadium a reality, sent Duke gear to Jon, upgraded us to first class, donated a sick day, filled our cubbard, gave us tickets to the Pacers, made a video, welcomed us to CBS-Indianapolis, put your life on hold to spend 3 months being "Mandy the nanny", helped us move in and out of the Indy apartment, took a week or 2 to stay with us in Indy, made the GODSTRONG blanket, took Donna on a lunch date in Indy to feel "normal" for 2 hours, helped us pack and unpack in Bluffton, attempted an enema, took out Jon's stitches, substituted, donated sky miles, donated a children's book,  gave us a hotel room with your points, expedited a path report/slides or medical records, or whatever you did to minister to us we want to say …  THANK YOU! 

We are overwhelmed naming off all the things that you all have done for us(and know we are missing some)!  It's outrageous!  We don't deserve it.  You have gone way above and beyond.  I cannot tell you enough how we will forever be changed and we will minister to people in a whole new way because of the way you ministered to us.   We had over 1,000 hits on our blog the day Jon had surgery.  Knowing there were that many people and more praying was such a huge encouragement.  And then to be able to  share the great news on the blog after that was joyous! We are so humbly grateful for all of you!

I do have one small confession to make.  At the beginning of this journey I was so good about writing down every little gift we got.  As our time neared to an end at the end of October and we were exhausted and overwhelmed and were STILL receiving tons of stuff everyday, I stopped writing things down.  UHHH!  So, of course now my memory has failed me and Jon has chemo brain.  If you sent a package, card, gift, etc and want to know if we received it, will you PLEASE send me a message!  Email me, text me, FB me, whatever.  I promise I will respond!  Also, we did have our Indy mail forwarded to our home so if you sent a card at the end, we got it in Bluffton!

We also want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Jesus!  We are not only celebrating the birth of Jesus this year but the rebirth of Jon's life.  As we celebrate the Christmas season when Jesus sent his One and Only Son to rescue us from our sinful nature, we as a family are celebrating Jon's life as the stem cell transplant rescued him--remember without that he would not be alive.  Also, you will have to stay tuned on a subsequent blog for the story of how God has now given Jon yet another chance at life because when he was born a preemie he was given a 30% chance to live.  Jon will write a blog post soon:o)

I will leave you with a funny story.  We were having our prayer time 2 nights ago with Jon.  We have added some people to our nightly prayer.  We have been praying for a little baby named Nash who was born early and his lungs kept collapsing.  So this is the conversation we had the other night right before prayer time.

Momma:  "Guys!  I have great news to tell you.  Nash is doing so good he was able to come home from the hospital."

Luke:  "Momma, that's great.  So he can breathe now?"

Momma:  "Yes!"

Luke:  "That's great, Momma.  We don't have to pray for him anymore!!"

Momma:  "Great, that's probably what everyone said when they found out Jon was clean and clear of cancer."

Luke:  "No!  We still have to pray for daddy and his "doodles"  (power port)

We then told the kids Jon will be getting his power port out right after Christmas and so when we prayed Emma Kate prayed for his "Christmas doodles."

Also, we always end our prayer time with all hands in the middle saying, "Strebe's stick together like glue.  1…2…3, the Strebe's are GODSTRONG!"  And now in honor of the lovely ladies below, we then say "SHHHH, the ladies are downstairs."  The kids bust out laughing and start screaming!  We do this in honor of our lovely ladies downstairs!

Blessings to the greatest supporters in the world!

The Strebe's are…

GODSTRONG!

I'll leave you with some pictures!

 Took a field trip to the Bluffton Fire Department.  We had the BEST time.  Firefighter Joel was awesome and spent so much time with us!  The kids had a blast!  And we learned a ton.  And to top it off, at the end they got a call so we got to see them jump in the truck and rush off with sirens and lights!  It was really cool!

 We like to take our lunch boxes to the park and have lunch!

Ryan's new underwear that he is still trying to warm up to.  He is still liking his diapers too much!

Our Thanksgiving

Sorry I left you all hanging.  We DID make it home for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful!  We celebrated with Jon's parents and my mom. We had a very yummy dinner but most of all we were all rejoicing that Jon was with us celebrating wonderful news.

With my mom staying here, we were able to get all of our Christmas up which was great.  Jon's favorite time of year is Christmas so it's been nice to be able to sit and enjoy the Christmas tree and decorations every night.

Jon is doing fabulous.  He went back to work this past week 1/2 days.  He feels really good.  He has also had basketball games this week at night that he is the Athletic Rep for so he has been quite busy.  I also have volunteered him to coach Luke's 4-5 yr old basketball team, so that adds yet one more thing to his already busy schedule.  Next week he will teach full time so pray that he will have extra strength.  He will also start refereeing after the beginning of the year.  I think he is amazing.  I can't believe he had thoracic surgery 2 weeks ago, had 8 cuts, and is acting like nothing ever happened.  He has a full beard, lots of eyebrows, and his hair looks normal.  Its amazing how quickly he started looking like the Jon we knew a year ago.  The day we flew back home from Indy this last time was exactly, to the day, 11 months after Jon was diagnosed with testicular cancer--lung metastasis.

It has been quite an 11 months.  It has been emotionally draining for both of us.  It was been physically draining for Jon.  Ironically, Jon is feeling re-energized and full of life.  I am blah and extremely exhausted.  I currently sleep more than the kids.  I go to sleep soon after the kids go to bed and some mornings I sleep until 8:30 or 9 depending on Jon's schedule.  I hope I go back to normal quickly:o).  This is a lot of the reason the blog hasn't been updated.

Before I let you go, I just wanted to add something to my funny story about my rings getting stuck on my finger.  This is from Jon's point of view.  He claims that this is what he remembers from the event.  He remembers 2 "garden hoses" (chest tubes) stuck up into his ribs.  He said he would lay in the bed and watch the nurses by pass him, straight to my chair I was sitting in beside the window.  According to Jon, the nurses were getting their cousins, brothers cousins, their brothers' cousins' brother, etc for help.  Calling the ER, and never remembering that Jon was the actual patient.  Jon said for a while he was wondering who the patient was with all the attention my finger was getting.  He cracks me up!

Jon will go back to Indianapolis January 8th for a follow up with the thoracic surgeon, chest x-ray, blood work, and a follow up with his oncologist.  He will also get his power port taken out that week in Atlanta, and see his urologist!  Wow, I'm tired thinking about that week.  We are choosing to enjoy this time of year and the good news.  But please continue to pray for us.  We will definitely have "scanxiety" as January 8th gets closer.  Please also pray for Jon's body.  It has been through a lot this past 11 months.  His body has been filled with lots of toxins.  He has had 2 surgeries, a lung biopsy, and a port placement.  There are consequences on your body to taking this many toxic drugs.   Jon has lost a lot of his hearing.  He has ringing in his ear constantly.   He has neuropathy in his feet (he NEVER complains about it).  Please pray that God will protect his body from long term side effects from chemo such as heart problems, secondary cancers, kidney problems, the list goes on.  Although these side effects are more rare, Jon has had high doses of chemotherapy and we don't want to be naive.  I want you to join with us in praying specifically for Jon's body to be protected from these potential complications.  We will be forever changed because of this 11 months.  I am reminded everyday to give Jon up to the Lord and trust Him with his future.  I have no control and this is good for me!

Philippians 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Ephesians 6:10 "Finally be strong in the Lord and in His Mighty Power."

Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

The Strebe's are…

GODSTRONG!!

 This is Luke's "epi pen" that he carries with him everywhere he goes.   Most of you know he has a severe tree nut allergy (he went into anaphylactic shock at 2 1/2 yrs. old after eating a cashew).  He loves pretending all the time!

The kids are very into picnics these days.  They now all have a lunchbox and we pack them up and head to the park, tennis courts, beach, etc to have our lunch.

This is Ryan's new Thomas the train underwear.  He loved it when we bought it but then told me he isn't going to wear it!  We are working on warming up to the idea of potty training.  Fun times.

Heading Home!

Wahoo!  We are heading home today--busiest travel day of the year.  Jon has a final check up in the clinic with the surgeon in the morning and our flight from Indy leaves out at 4:25PM.  Pray the weather will not delay or more importantly cancel our flight.  We are READY to be home with our kiddos.  We have been away from them for 8 days!

Jon is doing great.  He is still a little sore (cut in 8 places)!!  He had 2 chest tubes (those incisions even look pretty big).  He is also still very tired, but is anxious to get home and get back to "normal."  It will take about 6-8 weeks for him to have NO limitations but for 2 weeks cannot lift more than 15 pounds.  And then a gradual increase from there.  But he will go back to work pretty quickly so for all of you co-workers, like it or not, he is coming back for good:o).  He canNOT wait to live his normal life which includes P90X, teaching everyday, Athletic Director duties, and refereeing.  Oh, and did I mention that he has 3 small kids and a wife.  This man is on the go and this past year has cramped his style.

A delivery came during his hospital stay!  It was his GODSTRONG blanket that went all over the country!  He was super excited.  Here is a video and a picture.  My phone ran out of memory so the video shut off but at least you can see a clip of when he saw the blanket.  How awesome that many, many people were praying for Jon on the day of his surgery and praying for continual healing in his body.  GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!  It's amazing!  I'm sure Jon will write a thank you soon!

So many people have reached out to us during this time and one thing Jon and I have made a commitment to is giving back!  Jon got out of the hospital on Sunday and Monday he went to the BMT unit to encourage and minister to 3 of the 4 testicular patients that IU has currently getting the same treatment Jon got (by the way that is a lot at one time).  This is a picture of Mark and his girlfriend Candice.  They are 23 and fresh out of college and dealing with some pretty heavy stuff.  I am asking you to pray for Mark (and Candice and his parents).  Also, please pray for Rob and Josh.  We got to meet all 3 of them and they are all great guys!  Please pray for them as they are all in the middle of getting high dose with stem cell transplant. We enjoyed telling our story of our journey and encouraging them. 

I'll leave you with a funny story.  When Jon went in to surgery he had to take his wedding ring off.  I was worried it would fall off my finger, so I took my wedding rings off, put his band on and then mine on top so his would stay on my finger.  I forgot it was even there by the end of the stressful day.  I stayed at the hospital the first night after Jon's surgery.  I woke up in the morning and my finger was very swollen.  I could not for the life of me get my rings off.  So i began doing all the tricks to get it off, lotion, ice to get the swelling down, vasoline, etc.  The situation was getting worse.  The finger was swelling even more.  There was no hope.  But the funny part was all the nurses were getting involved in the action.  They were coming in and out of the room, not to help Jon but to help me.  They were trying every trick they had heard about from the ER.  NO Luck.   They were even going to extremes to call down to the ER to get me a ring cutter.  We were all wondering who the patient was.  At this point, Jon is completely rolling his eyes wondering how I always get myself into these messes.  He calls me his beautiful disaster.  The ER sent the ring cutter up to the room.  I held it in my hand but just couldn't bring myself to use it.  So with the urging of Jon's mom, we decided to give it the rest of the day to see if the swelling would go down and sure enough that night I somehow worked and worked and got it off!!  Always some sort of drama to tell about.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all and 

We are thankful to be…

GODSTRONG!!

Glorious update on Jon

Dr. Einhorn stopped by this morning and the best pathologist here at IU looked through what was taken out of Jon's lungs and found NOTHING but necrotic material (scar tissue).  We are just OVERJOYED.  11 months--first good news we have heard!

Jon got one chest tube taken out yesterday.  He will have his epidural taken out today.  And the 2nd and final chest tube taken out tomorrow.  Should be discharged from the hospital tomorrow (Sunday).  He is feeling awesome, just a little tired I think from the pain medicines.  He walked this morning and said he felt really great!  Also, when we asked Dr. Einhorn about the 2 remaining spots, he said we are leaving them alone because "there is no way they are anything but scar tissue."  Love his confidence!  Also Jon will NOT have to be on 3 months of oral chemo.  The great news just keeps coming!

So we will be in Indianapolis until next week, we will come back here (IU) for a follow up from surgery next month and then in January for another chest x-ray and blood work and an exam.

Again, please continue to pray for Jon's recovery.  It is weird to have had surgery on both lungs at the same time.  Also, please pray that there is not one bit of cancer remaining!  When you live this life as a cancer patient or the spouse/family of a cancer patient you feel like you live from scan to scan.  Because we have already been through this starting 7 years ago, we know the stress that lies ahead especially the first year of scans.  So please pray that we will continue to trust in God and not let fears creep in.

For now…

The Strebe's continue to be…

GODSTRONG!

PRAYERS ARE BEING ANSWERED! KEEP THEM UP!

We received such great news!  I just spoke with the doctor.

They got all 3 spots with the scope.  PRELIMINARY frozen results show ONLY SCAR TISSUE!!!  There are those 2 spots remaining that are embedded.  They left them alone.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors as Jon continues his journey through this process.  It is far from over but God is SOO GOOD!!

PRAISE GOD FOR:

Scar tissue (preliminary)
Seven thirty this morning God continues to do a miracle in Jon's life
Surgeon said everything went GREAT!  God was definitely with that team.
Scoping!  Much faster recovery and less pain for Jon!

I am telling you all this and its weird that Jon has no idea this news…LOL

But he is going to be so happy!!  Can't wait to tell him!

Thank you for praying.  We are SO humbly grateful.  DON'T STOP!!  Prayers must continue.   Jon still has a tough road to walk down.   Scans every 2 months, oral chemo, etc.

But for now.

We Stay

GODSTRONG!

Prayer Request-- 5xS AND wear your GODSTRONG shirts tomorrow if you can!

Here are the 5 main prayer request:

Scope
Scar tissue
Surgeon and his team.
Save Jon's life!
Seven-thirty AM

Jon and I met with his oncologist and surgeon (Dr. Kessler) today.  We found out some "new" news.  First of all the GOOD news.  Jon's tumor markers are NORMAL!  YEA!!  Also, Jon evidently has 5 nodules.  1 bigger one on his right, and 4 smaller ones on the left.  The surgeon is 80-90% sure he can get all 3 with the scope (all tomorrow which is new news).  The other 2 are embedded in his lung.  If they find out through the path report the 3 removed are scar tissue they will leave the embedded ones alone.  IF it were to be cancer they would have to remove the lobe of the left lung at a later date.  PLEASE, PLEASE pray that they find scar tissue tomorrow.  We will not know the results until next week.  Also we are a little more anxious since they will be doing surgery on both lungs.  Please continue to pray for protection for Jon.

The surgery is at 7:30AM.  It will last hopefully a couple of hours.

I love how God encourages all of us in little ways.  This was no accident.  Total God thing.  I'm not sure if most of you know that Jon is a high school basketball referee.  His dream one day is to be able to referee on the college level.  One of the questions Jon asked the surgeon today was when he would be able to referee again.  The surgeon asked what level he refereed (I'm sitting there thinking he asked because he wanted to know how hard he actually ran up and down the court).  Well, it was because another one of his patients that was in the room beside us is a Big 10 referee for Men's Basketball!  Not only that, the doctor wanted Jon to go over to his room and meet him.  Dr. Kessler introduced Jon to him and not only that, but the Big 10 referee gave the doctor permission to give Jon his information so Jon could contact him!  We serve such a BIG God that cares about us in EVERY way, even the small ways!

Jon is such a witness-- it's really cool to see.  He makes such an impression on the people he comes in contact with.  Dr. Einhorn and him hugged today and Dr. Einhorn said to Jon, "You are such a good man."  I highly doubt he tells all his patients that.  Also, Jon told Dr. Kessler that a lot of people are praying for him tomorrow and Dr. Kessler looked down, shook his head, looked back at Jon and said I really appreciate that.  I see God using Jon in a Mighty way.  Pray for everyone who comes in contact with Jon and his story!  You are a part of telling his story for the Glory of God.

One last story.  I signed up on the prayer wall for a slot for Luke (and me) and the twins (and me).  I had SO much fun spending an hour with them praying for Jon, reading scripture about Jesus' healings and how we must go before Him and believe He can heal Jon, explaining what the prayer wall was, and making a little gift for Jon with them.  I was thinking the other day about the fact that my goal was to do preschool with Luke this year at home.  Well, that hasn't even come close to happening.  You know, Luke may not can write one letter, know how to hold his pencil, know what sounds the letters make, etc, BUT he is learning more from living our lives and taking time to spend with God in prayer and studying Scripture than he could ever learn doing "school."  And this is what life is all about.  I would not take this time back at all!  I would not change what we are going through.  Because when I take a step back and see what God is doing in our family, and in our kids, I would not want this any other way! This will last for eternity and the kids, Jon and I are gaining more from this than we ever could be doing academics!  I am grateful!

Please remember to order t-shirts if you still want one.  Only 2 days left!

Just click on the link

http://www.bonfirefunds.com/jon-and-donna-strebe

The Strebe's are:

GODSTRONG

Way long overdue update

Hey everyone,

     This is Jon writing.  Let me first start out by apologizing.  I am truly sorry for not updating the blog in the last four weeks.  You all probably thought the Strebe family had fallen off the face of the earth.  Quite the contrary, the Strebe family had entered paradise, which we like to call home!!!  I know you know what I am talking about.  Even when you go on vacation, it is always a great moment when you pull into the driveway, and are home.  Well it was especially sweet, after having spent two months in a foreign city, living in a building where some of the people around us didn't want us there, and having to be there because you have cancer was just not most people's idea of fun.  It was great, Donna was driving everyone back to the apartment from CBS on a Thursday and it was snowing!  It was October 25th, and it was snowing!!!  Craziness!  Two days later Donna was pulling everyone into the driveway in 81 degree temperatures.  I knew there was a reason we live where we live.
     Since coming back home, we have thoroughly enjoyed our home, and the area that we live in on a whole new level!  We consider it such a blessing from God to have the house we have, and live in the place that we live.  We are appreciating everything at a whole new level!  As soon as we arrived, it was like someone had flipped a switch for our kids, and they turned into brand new children that we hadn't seen for over two months.  The change was certainly for the better.  And let me reassure you that the change was not just for the kids, the adults too instantly became different!  We have enjoyed watching our kids play in the front yard, play in the back yard, drive their battery powered vehicles all over the place, go to the park, eat at "our" Chick Fil A and countless other activities.  We have gone to the beach, gotten burned :), enjoyed spending time with friends we had not seen for months, and just plain loved getting back to a "normal" life.
     I also must say that I just celebrated my 37th birthday.  Let me just tell you that this birthday meant just a little bit more than some of the other ones.  Usually, as you get older, birthdays just aren't quite as fun anymore.  Well, for this guy, birthdays just got a little more special.  Funny how your perspective changes on even the little things in life.  My sweet wife took me to Jacksonville where we shopped till we dropped (yes I actually like shopping), stayed at the Hyatt on the river (gorgeous view), walked on the beach, and ate dinner at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island the next day.  What an awesome birthday!  It truly was perfect!  Thank  you honey!  I truly have the best wife on the planet!
     Let me also update you on my health situation.  God has totally blessed me in this way.  Starting with the second round of high dose chemo, my doctors and nurses all told us that the second round could very possibly be easier than the first round.  My response, was "no way"!  Well, as it turned out it was easier!  Since being home I have gotten to a place where doing P90X might actually be a possibility again.  My energy is back to normal as is my appetite.  I am even gaining a little weight, albeit  the wrong kind of weight, but weight nonetheless.
     So, that brings me to this week.  Here is the schedule so you all can continue to pray.  First and foremost, please continue to pray that no matter what, God's will is being done in our lives, as well as the lives of the people around us.  Donna and I will fly back up to Indianapolis on Tuesday.  We will meet with my oncologist and the thoracic surgeon on Wednesday, and have surgery on Thursday.  My last scan revealed that although my body responded positively to the high dose chemo, there was still a spot left on my right lung, and 2-3 smaller spots on my left lung.  The surgeon will go in with the intention of scoping the right lung and removing the spot which could be scar tissue or live cancer.  If he can't remove everything through the scope, they will then have to cut me open.  This will move our time in Indy from a 2-3 day stay in the hospital, and 2 days beyond for monitoring, to a 6-7 day stint in the hospital and another couple days of monitoring.
     If what is removed is found to be scar tissue, we believe that the doctors will recommend watching the right side through the use of CT scans.  If what is removed is found to be cancer, we will more than likely go back to Indy in a month to remove what remains on the left side.  Again, pray that God's will be done, no matter what it is.  However, also pray that it is not cancer, and that they can remove the spot through scoping, rather than cutting.  That would allow us to be home for Thanksgiving rather than having to spend it away from our kids, family, and friends.
     We continue to trust that God is working in our lives, and that He continues to work in us and through, using this time in our lives, and using this challenge for His glory, to affect others for Him!  We don't understand the continued struggle that we are faced with, but know that it is not our place to ask why.  We press on as a family, steadfast in the knowledge that our God who is omnipotent, and omniscient, has already gone before us this week, and knows everything that is about to occur.  Thank you to each one of you who continues to ride this roller coaster with us.  We love and appreciate each one of you, and the support that you have shown our family in so many different ways.

A couple of reminders.  We have opened up t-shirt sales again.  This will go for about 6 more days.  A lot of you have asked so I feel confident we will get to 50.    Here is the link

http://www.bonfirefunds.com/jon-and-donna-strebe

Also.  If you have not taken the time to listen to Jon speak at the church in Indy, please do.  It will be worth your time.  Here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjAFCcdBXNM

Also, here is a link to the prayer wall leading up to Jon's surgery.  Thanks!

Prayer Wall for Jon

Two opportunities...

Hey everyone,

 

This is Mandy and Amybeth - friends of Donna and Jon's from Atlanta.  We are so grateful for everyone who participated in the GODSTRONG shirts - buying shirts and sending in pictures  - what an encouragement as you guys helped to raise 23,000. Thank-you!

 

We know everyone is concerned over Jon having to go back to IU for surgery.  We also know that many of you must feel like we do - there isn't physically a lot we can "do" and that is a helpless feeling. 

 

But there are two opportunities to walk with them leading into surgery that we wanted to make you aware of.  

 

1.  We have set up a 24 hour prayer wall for the week leading into surgery.   If you would be willing to take an hour sometime the week of Jon's surgery please click this link and sign your name.    If you hit enter after signing your name it will update automatically.  You don't have to "save."   If the date for surgery changes check back on this link as we will adjust the dates accordingly.

 

PRAYER WALL FOR JON

 

We would love 168 people to take ONE hour to intercede for Jon and Donna leading into surgery.  

 

SECONDLY

 

2.  Amybeth had a GODSTRONG blanket made for Jon.   

We are going to put this blanket in several different locations over the next few weeks for people to pray over.  We would love for you to stop by in the area where it is going to be - place your hands on the blanket  - pray for Jon and Donna, and then sign it.

 

Below are the locations and "contact" people at those locations who are handling mailing, etc:

 

Atlanta area -

Providence Christian Academy (fun in the afternoon room) 

Monday October 28-Wednesday October 30

contact:  Mandy Chapman - twochapmans@gmail.com 

 

Atlanta area -

NCF  - Martha Nunnally

Thursday October 31-Friday, November 1

contact: Martha Nunnally - mnunnally@nationalchristian.com

 

Hilton Head area -

Hilton Head Christian Academy - Sherry Bundy

Tuesday, November 5-Wednesday November 6

contact:  Sherri Bundy - Sherribundy4@aol.com

 

Hilton Head area -

Riverview

Thursday, November 7-Friday, November 8

contact: Mandy Klepper - Mklepper@riverviewcharterschool.org 

Dallas area: 

Sara Strebe  (Gateway Frisco Church)

Monday, November 11-Tuesday November 12

contact: Sara Strebe - sarastrebe@yahoo.com

 

Arizona area

Sherry Saylor

Thursday, November 14-Friday, November 15

contact:  Sherry Saylor - Rsfarms2@dishmail.net

 
Indiana:

Linda Dodson

Monday November 18-Wednesday November 20

contact:  Linda Dodson - ldodsoncbs@att.net

It will end with the group in Indiana who will get it to Jon as he heads to surgery at IU November 21.     

 

We want this blanket to be another symbol for Jon and Donna of people standing with them.   We know we can't send the blanket to every place in this short amount of time.  If you can't physically get to a location but you would like to sign the blanket please e-mail me or the contact person at your location and we will sign your name.   

 

You can also e-mail me (Mandy) with any questions at twochapmans@gmail.com   

 

Feel free to copy and paste this post into e-mail form to send on to people who may have missed it on the blog.  

 

Thanks everyone,

Sean and Mandy Chapman

Brian and Amybeth Skinner

CT results

Jon had his CT scan and we got results from Dr. Einhorn today.   I will tell you everything we know.  There are 3 remaining spots.  One is larger on the right side.  The other 2 are very small on the left side.  The plan is to do surgery to remove the larger one in 4 weeks.  The next steps will depend on the pathology report.  If it shows scar tissue, they will assume the small spots are scar tissue and leave them alone.  If it shows live cancer, they will go back in and remove the small spots.  We do not have a surgery date yet but looks like it will be right before Thanksgiving.  Obviously this is not the news we wanted to hear.  But at the same time, we knew this was a possibility.

The surgery will be done up here at IU Hospital.  We had a couple of people comment that this thoracic surgeon is "the best."  People come from all over to use him and him and Dr. Einhorn have worked together for a while.  Another confirmation that Jon made the right decision when choosing to come to IU Cancer Center and be treated by Dr. Einhorn!

GOOD NEWS:

Jon has been completely discharged from the BMT Unit.  They say he is doing wonderful!  We are GOING HOME!  My sister is flying in Wednesday night.  We are packing up Thursday and leaving out Friday morning.  We will drive half way Friday and the rest on Saturday.  Jon will fly home on Saturday and we will all get home at the same time!  We are SOO super excited.  All of us except Luke can hardly wait.  Luke is conflicted.  He LOVES the adventures we have had in Indianapolis and doesn't want to leave. But at the same time he says he can't wait to get back to play in his playroom!  Ryan just wants to get back to go swimming (when we left it was still HOT).  And Emma Kate wants to get back to ride her ATV.  I just want to get back and prop my feet up on our new couch and enjoy DVR again.  And Jon just wants to go to the beach.  It's the simple things!

Ryan has had croup and he also ran a pretty high fever for a couple of days/nights so that was stressful and I got no sleep!   Luke started wheezing a week and a half ago so we have been doing lots of breathing treatments to keep him from having an asthma attack.  Emma Kate has been the least sick but has had a pretty bad cough.  This was all going on when Jon's counts were literally almost non-existent.    God totally protected him and he literally started getting a cold the day after his counts started coming back up!  And so far he has been able to fight it pretty well and has only a mild cold.


Prayer request:

1.  Pray the surgeon will be able to get the remaining mass with a scope.  It will be much less invasive than actual surgery to open the chest.

2.  Pray that all they will find is scar tissue.

3.  Safe travels home.

4.  Jon's body will continue to recover.  Although BMT Unit (Bone Marrow Transplant) thinks he is doing great, if Jon had blood work done it would be alarming for a "normal" person.  It is a new normal but his numbers compared to that of a healthy person are still not good at all.

5.  Jon is weary, tired, and completely drained.  This is very hard news for him to handle emotionally.  Pray he will get recharged at home before his surgery.

Jon asked me today if we would make it through this, and I said YES!!  Because we are...

GODSTRONG!!

Weary

We are all weary of this journey.  Jon is weary from enduring 2 months of his body completely being depleted of every good thing (AND BAD thing).  He is weary from fighting nausea for basically 2 months, he is weary from the mental battle.  I am weary of coming to the clinic everyday, rushing home to see my kids, going back and forth between apartments to take care of everything and everyone.  Emily is weary from MY KIDS!  LOL.  She is weary from hearing them cry and scream, "I WANT MY MOMMY." Weary from getting up every morning early and not stopping until night time. She is weary from being pulled in lots of different directions, being asked to do this and that.  This is a 7 day a week thing.  None of us stop for "breaks" during the week, or whatever.  It is constant and we need prayer for strength to make it through to the finish line.  We are longing to be back at home in our own beds, on our own furniture, in our spacious house God has provided for us, and with our friends and family.

I do have a really cool story.  So back when Jon first started this process I told you he was going to write a letter to Lance Armstrong.  Well, he did (way back when) and I NEVER mailed it until last week!!  I asked all of you to pray and we also prayed that Mr. Armstrong would actually see the letter and not his publicist or whoever runs his LIVESTRONG foundation, etc.  Well, prayers were answered!!  Mr. Armstrong hand wrote a letter back to Jon.  It was short and basically thanked Jon for writing and to keep fighting.  I just think it is way cool that this letter is in the hands of Lance Armstrong and hopefully he did not just toss it into the trash but pray that God would use the words Jon wrote to penetrate through his heart.  Here is an excerpt of the end of the letter that Jon wrote that we need to pray Mr. Armstrong's heart will be softened by:

Mr. Armstrong, I am writing to you on the eve of my first of two rounds of high dose chemo with stem cell transplant.  My family and I have moved from South Carolina to Indianapolis for the next 2-3 months.  I have to be honest with you that I very nervous about the outcome, as well as how the treatment is going to affect me over the course of the treatment protocol.  Reading your book, certainly painted a very real picture of what potentially is to come.  

I have to tell you that there is one difference between you and I, and it is our belief system.  Throughout this process, I have never asked, “ why me? “.  I have always said  “ Why not me? “  I firmly believe that what my family and I are going through is God’s will for our lives.  I  believe that God has led us to Indiana to be treated by the best doctor in the world.  I believe that God is going to work through Dr. Einhorn and his staff, the nurses, the technicians, and the medicine.  It is through these people, their knowledge, and wisdom that God will perform a miracle.  I am a firm believer in God the Father, who sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.  Only to have him be raised from the dead three days later and defeat death.  Please understand that Jesus died on the cross for me, for you, and for all of mankind.  

I don’t know where you stand, faith wise, but I want you to know that as a current cancer patient, I am praying that God either continues to reveal Himself to you in a very real way, or that He introduces Himself to you.  I am praying that if you don’t know the God that I believe in that your heart will be softened to His leading.  Mr. Armstrong, I believe that whether God heals me or not, that His will is being accomplished even now as I write you.  You are truly an inspiration to all current cancer patients.  Your strength and determination are to be admired.  I plan to fight this cancer with same amount of courage and perseverance that are described in your book.  I know that the Lord my God will provide me with the mindset and strength necessary for my family to get through this process.  Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.  I greatly appreciate it!  I hope to someday have the opportunity to meet you face to face.  We can share our stories of survival!

God is good and we do not need to be Lance Armstrong's judge.  We need to pray for him!  He needs Jesus just like all of us do!  Thanks for joining in.  God has given Jon some awesome opportunities to share with people and it is so fun to see Jon using every one of them!

I need to share some great news before I sign off.  Jon has gotten his blood work back for the day and his white counts are coming up!!  They are hoping to discharge him next week.  Like TOTALLY discharge him from the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Unit.  The docs and NP say he is doing fantastic and we should be able to come home!!!   HALLELUJAH!  Great news for all of us.  I did not know this news when I wrote the first paragraph of this blog.  I think we can make it to the finish line but this last week will be very busy packing and saying our good bye's.  Pray for strength and energy!

We will do it because we are...

GODSTRONG!

Courage in disCOURAGEment

I was listening to a Beth Moore CD that someone gave me during this time.  God warned the Israelites not to fall for these 2 obstacles in light of the fulfillment of His personal promises.

FEAR
DISCOURAGEMENT

Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

This is such a great verse and great reminder!  Beth reminds us that the word COURAGE is inside disCOURAGEment and when we encourage one another we are INFUSING courage into each other!

That is what you all have done for us!  Thanks from the bottom of our hearts!


Funny stories:

My mom and Emily took the kids to the zoo yesterday.  It is Fall Break here for 2 weeks so I think it was kinda crazy and crowded.  I feel sure they still had a good time but usually when we go, there is no one there.  So later in the day I was spending some one on one time with my sweet girl Emma Kate.  One on one time just means I go and do some errand or task and I pick one child to go with me.   So, Emma Kate and I were in the business office at the apartments.  I was trying to print something and she was dancing around talking.  And this is what came out of her mouth, "Going to the zoo was like a bad dream."  I don't know why it cracked me up so much, but it did.  She doesn't even know what a bad dream is, heck I don't even know if she has ever had a dream.  She is hilarious because she does NOT stop talking, remind you of anyone? HA

Since chemo starting in January, I have always kept up with Jon's meds.  He has NO clue what he takes and when he takes it.  I always write down what and when.  Now, understand I am not an exact person like my husband so if Jon takes something at 2:41, I write 2:30.  If he takes something at 2:51, I write 3.  You get the point.  So, Jon of course always writes 3:57, 4:12, etc.  The past couple of days he has completely been in charge of taking his own meds.  So I will be in the apartment and as SOON as the clock changes to 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc he gets up and heads to his anti-nausea meds bottle. If I were in charge of when to give it, it may or may not happen within a one hour time frame.  We were just laughing about it today because he is extremely OCD and I am NOT!  I have no idea if anyone finds humor in this story, but just thought I would lighten the mood.

Jon is getting platelets today again.  He also got them yesterday.  Otherwise all his blood work looks great (for his situation).  It would not look so great if he were not on chemo.  Doctors are still very pleased with how his body is responding to this round.  He is a champ and has stayed outpatient so far which is a blessing.

The Strebe's are...

GODSTRONG!

The JOY of being in Christian Fellowship

I have loved seeing people from everywhere join in our journey.  This is what it is all about.  I have seen how God has used each of your abilities and talents in such great and mighty ways to minister to our family!

Romans 12:3-5

English Standard Version (ESV)

Gifts of Grace

³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment,each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members,^[a] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individuallymembers one of another.

I titled the blog this way because I want you to remember and pray for JOY.  She is a fellow co-worker of Jon's at Riverview.   She also is battling cancer.  Her and Jon literally went through chemo back in the winter/spring at the very same time.  She has 2 very young children.  She has recently spent time out at MD Anderson.  Every time I see this picture it touches me.  She has texted us, called and encouraged Jon on his journey instead of just sitting in sorrow about her own situation.  She has reached out and we appreciate it!  Please pray that God will give her strength.  That God will give her a peace that passes all understanding.    That God will continue to draw her into Himself during this very difficult time.

Another very cool story.  Mandy, another co-worker at Jon's school wrote to tell this story.  Her and her family were spending fall break in Asheville, NC.  They were at a fall festival with pumpkins, mazes, etc.  They saw a girl there that had a GODSTRONG shirt.  Her kids wanted to inquire to see if she was wearing the shirt for Coach Strebe.  So they went and asked and of course she said YES!

That is amazing!  My sister had also told me that her friend was over in Alpharetta about an hour from where they live and saw a GODSTRONG shirt.  It is just so cool to see how many people all over are standing GODSTRONG!

The Strebe's stand...

GODSTRONG!

PTL--The doctor said Jon is doing GREAT this round.

First, I will give you an update on Jon.  So far, he has stayed out of the hospital.  He is Day +5.  Last round he was admitted to the hospital on Day +5.  So this is great news!  The doctor came in to check him today and said that he is doing so great this round.  We are very encouraged.  Basically last round his counts starting coming up on Thursday.  So he has a few more days of misery.  Don't get me wrong with saying he is doing great, he is in MISERY.  All he does is go to the clinic everyday and come home and lay in bed the rest of the night and fight off major nausea.  We are giving him more anti-nausea meds this time but we don't even know if they are working.  But in the very least he is not throwing up, he is able to drink, and eat a little.  Please pray for his upcoming scan!  We are very anxious about the results.  And pray that his white blood cells will mature and begin producing soon so that his body can recover!  If you have not taken time to listen to what Jon shared in church, please do!  It will be worth the 22 minutes!

Here is the link:

http://youtu.be/OjAFCcdBXNM

Here is our shopping trip to Kroger.  We are preparing a birthday party for Emily tomorrow (Monday)!  So here are the kids with their cake mix, icing, candles, ice cream, and of course I bribed them with chips!  Here are the kids coming out of the grocery store each with their own cart, but there is a story the pictures just do not tell!  We get out to the car and the car won't crank (7:30PM--Luke's bedtime).  Our battery had died!  This is how incredibly fantastic my husband is.  I call him (we left him at home in MISERY to go to the apple orchard and a hayride).  I tell him the battery is dead--we are 30 minutes away--and his quick response is, "I'll be there in a few minutes."  Please understand that when he drives to and from the hospital each day he feels very nauseated--it's 1 mile!  Of course I tell him NO, you are NOT coming!  He then remembers that he put jumper cables in the van in case something like this happened to us on this trip!  WOW, what an amazing man!  He is more than I could ever ask for!  Luckily for us, Emily and my mom find a woman that is willing to jump us off and Emily, thank goodness, knows how to do this!  Lucky for us, because my mom or I don't have a clue.  So Emily jumps us off and we are on our way back home.  Fun adventures in the city!

Apple orchard and pumpkin patch with Nanny!  

Hayride.  This was Ryan's favorite!  He LOVES tractors!

Here is sweet Emma Kate showing off her apple she picked!

One of our favorite activities is the zoo!  

Here are the kids enjoying the dolphins.

The next few weekends the zoo is hosting ZOO BOO!  The kids can dress up and get candy.  Here is Princess Rapunzel and Jake!  Ryan decided he did not want to dress up.  He was supposed to be Woody.  O well, not worth the fight.

Here are some of our favorite animals at the zoo!

 Here are the kids on the canal.  Another favorite is feeding the ducks!  All the ducks LOVE when the kids come down because they know they are going to get lots of bread!

I'll close with a few cute Luke stories.

I have been very concerned about Luke the past few days.  He was wheezing on Friday.  He also started with a cough which normally goes straight to his chest and ends up in wheezing and asthma.  So, Saturday night I was feeling like I needed to sleep with Jon and Luke.  So I brought Luke to our apartment and slept him on a little couch on the floor in Jon's room and I could literally keep my eyes and ears on BOTH!  So when Luke woke up in the morning, he evidently tried tapping my arm but I would not wake up.  So, he told me later that when he couldn't wake me up, he got back in his bed, folded his hands and prayed 2 prayers for daddy, one was short and one was long!  Yep!  I cried when he told me!  

Also, just Luke and I went over to the zoo the other day while the babies took a nap.  We were looking at the ugly warthog when a little 3 year old boy started talking to Luke.  He commented that Luke had 2 bracelets on.  Luke responded, "O yea, these are my GODSTRONG bracelets.  My daddy is sick, but he is going to get well soon!  He has boo boo's."  The little 3 year old was so mature and sweet.  He kept talking to Luke and repeating back what he said, asking questions like where are his boo boo's.  You know, a typical conversation between a 3 and 4 year old.  Luke told him all about Ryan and Emma Kate.  It was so cute, and of course I was crying again!  I'm sure the 3-yr old's parents were probably thinking this lady is a basket case, we gotta get out of here.  But it was just precious to hear Luke tell Jon's GODSTRONG story!  We all need to keep telling it!  You never know who needs to hear it!

We have opened up the shirts again for one week.  Just click on the link to the right if you still haven't gotten a chance to buy one.

Also, one last thing, our friends Sean and Mandy Chapman have put together a video of people in their shirts.  It is great and I love to see how God uses our abilities and talents to bless others.  Thanks guys, you have blessed Jon and I.  He watched it tonight and LOVED it!  Here is the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7LjPZlPbfw